A new report from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences' Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship offers strategies and recommendations designed to help the country emerge from this current moment with a more resilient democracy.

Based on nearly fifty listening sessions held over the last two years, the report, Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century, outlines six strategies for "the essential reinvention of American constitutional democracy": achieve equality of voice and representation, empower voters, ensure the responsiveness of political institutions, dramatically expand civic bridging capacity, build civic information architecture that supports common purpose, and inspire a culture of commitment to American constitutional democracy and each other.

"We have worked for two years across divides, across disciplines, and across the country," said AAAS president David Oxtoby. "These comprehensive reforms are necessary to make America more representative, more responsive, and more united."

"This is an ambitious plan because it has to be," said Danielle Allen, the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University and director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, who co-chaired the commission with RBF president and CEO Stephen Heintz and Citizen University co-founder and CEO Eric Liu. "The nation is suffering from a crisis of legitimacy that cannot be addressed by any single reform. Our political institutions, civil society, and political culture need interacting reforms and investment to launch a virtuous circle of empowerment and responsiveness. Our Common Purpose is designed to establish a stronger foundation for self-government as the best route to safety and opportunity for all Americans."

Read the full article about reinventing a democratic nation at Philanthropy News Digest.